AP Psych unit 3 pg. 349-355

What is the background to Piaget’s study of cognitive development in children?

Piaget became intrigued by children’s wrong answers

What did Piaget’s studies lead him to believe?

that a child’s mind develops through a series of stages

What is the core idea behind his belief?

that a child’s mind is not a miniature model of an adult’s

What are the four major stages of development as proposed by Piaget?

sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational

What are some things that happen in the sensorimotor stage?

Object permanence

What are some criticisms of Piaget’s findings during this stage?

believe Piaget and his followers underestimated young children’s competence

Describe the conservation of substance.

A child pours juice into a tall, narrow glass and believes it has more juice than when it was a short, wide glass. The child is  focused on the height, not the width

What is symbolic thinking? When does this occur?

• 18-24 months

• Pretend play

What are some examples of egocentrism in children?

• Thinking that they are not seen if they can’t see

• Showing a picture facing them

When do children enter the concrete operational stage?

7

What happens during concrete operational stage?

become able to comprehend mathematical transformations and conservation

When does the formal operational stage begin?

12

What are some characteristics of formal operational stage?

• Abstract logic

• Potential for mature moral reasoning

How have modern researchers modified Piaget research?

see development as more continuous than did Piaget, who mostly focused on the discontinuous nature of development

What are the implications for parents and teachers? 

• Young children are incapable of adult logic

• children are not passive receptacles waiting to be filled with knowledge

• accept children’s cognitive immaturity as adaptive

What is the basis of Lev Vygotsky’s viewpoint of cognitive development?

emphasized how the child’s mind grows through interaction with the social-cultural environment

What is the zone of proximal development?

the zone between what a child can and can’t do with help